See below for more details about all of the upcoming shows in 2026.
Also, check out our 2026 OTR New Play Reading Series featuring two new plays by 2026 Resident Playwright Enid Graham (writer of Chance’s 2024 OTR Staged Reading Tenderness and Gratitude Number Four), as well as new plays by 2018 Resident Playwright Joanna Garner, Jennifer Maisel, and 2020 Resident Playwright Krista Knight.
A message from our 2026 Season Producers
Bette & Wylie Aitken
Live theater has not only returned, it is flourishing. Thanks to your unwavering support, Chance Theater continues to grow, thrive, and inspire. Each season brings new stories, new audiences, and new reasons to celebrate what this remarkable company and community are building together.
Since reopening, Chance has dramatically orchestrated an amazing resurgence. Productions have earned acclaim, audiences have expanded, and education programs are reaching more students than ever before. We are proud to see Chance recognized not only as a cornerstone for the arts in Orange County, but also as a shining example of what passion, dedication, and community can achieve.
None of this would be possible without you. Your belief in the mission of Chance Theater, along with your generosity, presence, and voice, fuels everything that happens on stage and beyond. You are the heartbeat of this theater, and we are deeply grateful.
As this season unfolds, we hope you will continue to share the story of Chance. Invite friends, bring new faces into the audience, and let others feel the impact of live theater in their lives. Together, we can ensure that “Chance” continues to flourish for generations to come.
Book by Enda Walsh Music & Lyrics by Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová Based on the Movie Written & Directed by John Carney Directed by James Michael McHale Music Directed by Lex Leigh
EXTENDED BY POPULAR DEMAND! January 23 – March 2, 2026 at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center on the Cripe Stage
» Winner of 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical
Get ready to experience the heart and soul of Once! This intimate musical, based on the Academy Award-winning film, tells the story of a Dublin street musician and a Czech immigrant whose chance encounter sparks a week-long collaboration full of music, dreams, and unexpected connection. He’s trying to move on from heartbreak, she’s a bit of a mystery, and both are a bit stuck as they deal with their own pain and loss. But together, they create songs that capture the joy, struggle, and beauty of life, music that has the power to speak to their souls and offer some healing. This unlikely friendship blossoms into something powerful, complicated, and brings the possibility of something more…
An ensemble of actors play the hilarious and eclectic characters around them – parents, immigrants, a struggling shopowner, and more – Once shows how music can create unlikely community out of disparate people. Scored with evocative, emotionally charged music and performed live by the ensemble of actors themselves, Once is a raw, heartfelt, and joyous musical journey. It’s a must-see for anyone who has ever been swept away by stories of hope, connection, the transformative magic of music, and love. Don’t miss the chance to experience this celebrated, Tony Award-winning musical in a whole new way!
Written by 2016 Resident Playwright Jenny Connell Davis
Directed by Katie Chidester
March 27 – April 19, 2026
at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center
on the Cripe Stage
» West Coast Premiere from our 2016 Resident Playwright
What does it cost to stay silent? What does it take to finally speak?
From the playwright who brought you Matinicus: The Story of Abigail Burgess comes a gripping new play about memory, resilience, and the courage to resist hate.
Based on real events in both our past and much more recent history, The Messenger brings together the voices of four women across generations, each wrestling with prejudice, survival, and the choice to raise their voices against hate. At the heart of the play is Georgia Gabor, a Hungarian Holocaust survivor whose verbatim testimony demands that history not be forgotten. Her story resonates alongside imagined women from 1969, 1993, and 2021, all based in Pasadena, as each faces their own battles with injustice.
This gripping new work is both remembrance and rallying cry. It challenges us to ask where our own voices are needed today, and reminds us that silence has never been neutral.
May 1 – May 24, 2026
at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center
on the Fyda-Mar Stage
» Orange County Premiere from a Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright
In the aftermath of 9/11, two teenagers in Newark, New Jersey, navigate the precarious terrain of adolescence while grappling with the looming threat of deportation. When G becomes naturalized, they devise a plan to help B stay in the country. However, as time progresses, their bond is tested by the complexities of love, identity, and the harsh realities of their circumstances.
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok crafts a poignant narrative that delves into the lives of undocumented youth, exploring themes of belonging, sacrifice, and the pursuit of a future in a society that marginalizes them. Through sharp dialogue and compelling characters, Sanctuary City offers an intimate portrayal of resilience and the human spirit’s capacity to endure.
Lyrics by Alanis Morissette
Music by Alanis Morissette & Glen Ballard
Book by Diablo Cody
Directed by Matthew McCray
July 10 – August 9, 2026
at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center
on the Cripe Stage
» Outer Critics Circle Award & Drama Desk Award for Best Musical
Jagged Little Pill reimagines Alanis Morissette’s iconic 1995 album into a contemporary musical that delves into the complexities of a seemingly perfect suburban family. Set in the affluent town of Connecticut, the story centers on Mary Jane Healy, a mother grappling with past traumas and addiction, while balancing her family as they confront issues including sexual assault, gender identity, and societal expectations. Through powerful performances and Morissette’s evocative music that defined a generation, this award winning musical weaves together themes of family, healing, and empowerment. It’s a fearless, exhilarating celebration of hope, self-discovery, and the messy beauty of being human.
September 11 – October 4, 2026
at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center
on the Cripe Stage
» California Premiere from our 2023 Resident Playwright
Shakespeare’s infamous “bed trick” from All’s Well That Ends Well gets a bold and frisky remix in this darkly comic college romp. When deception and desire collide, three friends are forced to navigate the messy, hilarious, and sometimes shocking consequences of choices, crushes, and consent. From unexpected hookups to tangled friendships, The Bed Trick probes the question: what does consent really mean, and who gets to decide? Equal parts whip-smart comedy and pointed social commentary, this show takes the Bard’s mischief into the 21st century, exploring sex, ethics, and the timeless chaos of human desire with razor-sharp wit and a provocative edge.
» Staged Reading of A Long Time Ago in a Dark Yard at Night
A Long Time Ago in a Dark Yard at Night follows two friends from a small Texas town who take divergent paths in life as they grow from girls to adult women, each fighting to find happiness, overcome significant life and socio-economic obstacles, and remain connected to one another in a world full of compromise. A play that is one part comedy, one part drama, and equal parts telling a very human and relatable story.
Holly is mad, you might even say angry as hell. But as a 40-something well-established career woman, she can’t just go around screaming, now can she? Longing for the wild expression of her teen days, Holly plans a girls reunion weekend with a secret mission: to reunite the high school all-girl punk band of their youth. The only problem: no one is even remotely punk anymore. As they navigate the realities of how much they’ve changed— and the important ways they haven’t—five old friends reignite the fire of their riot grrrl past to contend with the injustices of adulthood.
In this memory play, Ben returns to the hot Galveston summer of his thirteenth year when a complicated and dangerous teenaged girl, Fresca, moved in with him and his mom. As he and Fresca become friends, Ben grows up and learns to appreciate the difficult greyness of life, including the sacrifices and challenges faced by his single mother who is raising him.
Canvas. Pencil. Paint. How can one piece of art tear at the hearts of generations? Provenance is a suspenseful uplifting play about the life of a sensual, unusual portrait from its beginnings in early 1900s German society, through its theft by the Nazis and its subsequent travels around the world. The play is La Ronde-esque, with actors playing multiple roles.
A New Play
by 2020 Resident Playwright Krista Knight
September 23 & 27, 2026
» LAB Workshop & Staged Readings of A New Play
Krista Knight was the 2020 Chance Resident Playwright and has been lucky enough to develop her play Shooter! here as well as a new musical Crimson Lit – Scarlet Letter Setlist written with queer pop icon Jill Sobule. Career highlights include scripting a ride for Tokyo Disneyland, meeting Václav Havel, pitching a movie to Janelle Monáe, writing a musical dance-a-thon to the death with Dave Malloy, and adapting Trolls for the stage for DreamWorks/Music Theatre International. Her New York Times recommended six-part VR puppet play CRUSH is streaming on the Emmy app. Vanderbilt Writer-in-Residence and 2023/2024 New Georges Audrey Resident and Ingram New Works Fellow. BA: Brown University. MA: Performance Studies from NYU. MFA Playwriting: UCSD. Artist Diploma from the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program at Juilliard. She splits her time between NYC and Nashville – where she drives a pink 1972 Chevy Nova. www.KristaKnight.com
